Marian B.

A strong smell of chlorine filled the air. The refreshing water of the indoor water park at Rocking Horse Ranch made the hot summer day cool. Me and other girls in Girl Scouts would go to the water park when we were not doing other activities we signed up for. A couple of different troops were at the resort, which made the place packed. The indoor water park had a pool with basketball hoops, and fake planks with netted rope above it so you could walk across while holding on to the rope. In the back of the park was where the water slide and playground was. The water slide was a tube that twisted and turned. On the playground there were two small slides that branched off.

 I leaned up against the big slide and felt the hard plastic touch my skin. Shots of water bounced of my back as I stood there waiting for my friend Emily. I thought about whether or not I wanted to go on the slide, would I like it, would I get sick, or would it be scary?

 I remembered the time were I was in a situation like this, I had been at a different indoor waterpark with a much bigger slide, for my brother’s birthday a few years before. Me and my best friend Eowyn both wanted to go on the slide but were scared to go on, Eowyn was going to go on, she even went up the very long staircase, but ended up not going on.

 I felt a splash of water hit me and pull me out of my daydream. I turned around to see Emily pulling herself out of the water.

“That was awesome” Emily shouted excitedly as she jumped out of the slide.

 Mary walked up to us before I could think of something to say.

“Have you guys been on yet?” Mary asked us,

Emily replied “I have”. Mary turned to face me,

I quietly said “ I am not sure if I am going on.”

After saying that I thought, if I do go on though how bad will it be?

“Then why don’t you just come up with us to make up your mind” Emily told me.

“Fine” I said as I crossed my arms.

Somehow, they both convinced me to get on the long, twisting stairs. People raced past us to get to their place in line. We stomped ourselves up the stairs. The longer it took for us to make it up, the shorter it took for me to get nervous. As the line got shorter and longer as more people disappeared down the water slide we climbed our way up. We finally made it to the top platform where the top of the slide was. There was a young lifeguard and all he did really was say “You can go”. Emily went first to show me that the water slide was not terrible. When I could no longer see Emily I stepped my warm, wet feet into the slide and sat down on the very edge of the slide where I could still see my surroundings of the ranch. Mary was behind me and she was a few feet away from me.

“You can go.” The lifeguard told me.

 I took a last deep breath of fresh of air before pushing the rest of my body down the slide. The tube was hot and dark. I turned and the tube surrounded me, I closed my eyes and crossed my hands over my chest not knowing it would make me go faster. The water pulled me through, I felt myself starting to turn again and again for what seemed like ages. I felt myself turning straight as a gush of water piled on top of me as I went under getting my hair and face wet. I opened my eyes realizing I was slowing down. I felt fresh air and the familiar smell of pool water hit my face. I pulled my body out from the water and saw the water park in front of me,

along with Emily smiling at me, “How was it?”
          “Not that bad, it was kind of fun even. I don't know why I was so worried.” I replied. Then I thought to myself that I did not have to be so scared about going on the waterslide after all. Once I finally made myself walk the stairs, and went on the slide I was not so scared and learned that I did not have to be. I turned towards the slide and remembered how I was looking at the slide in fear, when now, I was looking at it in a happy way.